The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, affirmed this Thursday that “the end of the conflict and the beginning of a permanent ceasefire” has been achieved, while Israel continued violence in the enclave, leaving more than 70 victims, including dead and wounded.
Khalil al-Hayya, leader of the Palestinian delegation in Egypt and head of the Hamas structure in the Strip, declared in an intervention broadcast by Palestinian media that the agreement with Israel “ends the offensive in Gaza, opens a key border crossing with Egypt and considers the release by Israel of all imprisoned Palestinian women and children.”
According to Al-Hayya, the guarantees come from regional mediators and the United States administration, who have assured that the war has come to an end.
The leader himself highlighted the resistance of the Palestinian people to an offensive described as divided between bombings and dispossession of territories.
“The population stood firm as a mountain, with unwavering determination in the face of slaughter, displacement, hunger and the loss of family and homes,” he stated in his speech. In turn, he paid tribute to the martyrs of October 7, especially Ismail Haniyeh, Saleh al-Arouri, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, to whom he attributed the spirit of resistance.
Likewise, he expressed gratitude to the forces and countries for their support to the Palestinian cause, especially to Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, as well as to the free peoples of the world, who showed active solidarity with Gaza during the two years of war, which has cost the Palestinian side more than 67 thousand documented deaths, as tens of thousands more lie unburied in the rubble of the cities devastated by Israel.
Terms of the agreement and its detractors in the Israeli cabinet
The agreement, according to Al-Hayya, contemplates the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and another 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip as part of a humanitarian exchange supervised by regional mediators.
The Israeli government spokeswoman declared that prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghuti, a member of Fatah, the Palestinian rival faction of Hamas, will not be part of the exchange.
The guarantees from Egypt, Qatar and the United States would have allowed the entry into force of a permanent ceasefire that would end the offensive and allow the return of displaced people and the entry of humanitarian aid.
In his reading, the first phase would include the release of live Israeli hostages and a withdrawal of Israeli troops, all under international supervision.
Among the conditions of the agreement were, according to cited sources, the entry of massive humanitarian aid and the return of displaced civilians to Gaza, as well as the beginning of talks to define a technical government in the Strip.
Al-Hayya stated that Hamas could renounce participation in a Gazan government during the transition to a technocratic governing body, overseen by an international structure headed by the United States.
On the ground, the Israeli offensive continued to leave victims and damage to residential buildings in Gaza. Testimonies from residents indicate that after notification of an agreement, Gaza authorities redoubled efforts to evacuate high-risk areas and coordinate aid routes for displaced populations.
Humanitarian authorities warn that, despite promises of humanitarian access, the situation of the civilian population remains very precarious, with severe malnutrition in some sectors and extreme dependence on foreign assistance.
To enter into force, the agreement had to be validated this Thursday by the Israeli security cabinet, before a meeting with the entire executive. The Israeli Minister of Internal Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, and the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, have already announced that they will vote against the pact with Hamas.
Guterres calls for full UN access to Gaza
To “turn this ceasefire into real progress, we need more than the silence of arms,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said this Thursday, after the announcement about this process in Gaza, indicated a report from the agency. Latin Press.
He commented that UN staff and humanitarian workers need “full, safe and sustained access” to Gaza, and in turn called for “removing bureaucracy and obstacles”, as well as “rebuilding the devastated infrastructure”, ensuring that the United Nations is ready to provide all its support.
Trump plans trip to Israel on Sunday
Israel awaits President Donald Trump’s visit this Sunday after he announced that he will try to travel to Egypt to sign the ceasefire agreement, after being invited by his counterpart Abdel Fatah al Sisi.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated “a great day for Israel” and declared that Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, also spoke along those lines, formally nominating President Trump for the award in a letter addressed to Swedish academics.
View from the flotilla
In other areas, activists from the Gaza aid flotilla expressed skepticism about the possibility that an immediate cessation of hostilities would change the blockade that, they denounce, restricts the arrival of basic supplies to the population.
Humanitarian organizations insisted that for the ceasefire to be sustainable, it must be accompanied by real and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid and guarantees for respect for the rights of civilians.
Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, one of the main organizers of the flotilla, stated that this movement will continue, after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Nothing indicates in the ceasefire agreements that the illegal blockade by Israel, the United States or any other nation on Gaza will end,” Ávila told reporters upon his return to Brazil.
